samaqi: This is the default ending, connecting with "From Z to A"'s epilogue, and leading to "Time Compression"
Acma found a Triple Triad card under the rock, along with a letter marked "From Z to A":
"Babe,
I don't know how long it will take for you to retrieve this letter. Life is not a Triple Triad match - there are far more possibilities, isn't it?
Am I still alive as Aczyma? Are you happy with your hermit life? Married with children of your own, maybe.
I'm happy for you, babe. Really. As long as you're alive and well. I'm your puppet.
Yes, I'm serious.
I don't know if Timeth had told you by this point.
My Dad was one of the scientists at Esthar. In his 20s, was forced into creating in vitro soldiers in Galbadia. My Mom was captured for the research. They fell in love and broke free, then had me in Centra. When I was 5, our house was raided. Mom transformed to save my life and become my GF Basilisk. We thought Pop was dead, but apparently he was forced to return and enhance the power of the in vitro soldiers with Lunatic Pandora's crystal dust.
Are you ready for the plot twist?
Your supporting man's Dad is an Odine. He was the one who instilled the Holy crystal in your body, and the Ultima crystal in your sister's. He also did some trick, so that any Selkie like myself would be attracted to you, in hopes you'd find me somehow and help our family reunite.
I only knew the truth after falling in love with you. Admittedly, I was in denial at first - accepting that our love was programmed was hard. It's even harder knowing that fate let us meet, but also put me in a situation where I'd one day be ordered to kill you.
I had decided to leave you. It was a logical decision. Killing you shouldn't be that emotionally hard for a trained assassin. But when I saw you soaked in blood during our SeeD exam, I knew I was fooling myself.
What do we call it when one knows there's a trap, but falls into it anyway?
A fool?
So be it, I chose to be a fool. There's romance in sacrificing one's life for love.
Yes, I'm cheesy as always.
Have fun exploring the world. I wish I could follow you until the end.
Last words: I love you, A.
-Z"
"I want to go to the Fire Cavern," Acma asked Devie.
"Why?" Devie was surprised at her request. "I'm afraid I can't accept that..."
"There's no magic there, and I can't outrun you with my heavy Cyborg body, right?" Acma reasoned. "Please, Zyma died there. I just want to visit him once. It's been 3 years. He must be lonely."
Devie reluctantly gave in. He followed her every step inside the cavern, which now looked dark as the Fire magic that used to maintain the heat was gone. The fire pit where Ifrit usually emerged from, and where Zyma fell down to complete his transformation, now became a deep abyss with no light.
"What happened to Ifrit?" Acma asked.
"We don't know. After you met Hyne, none of us can summon our GFs. The world is reset. But monsters remain..." Devie said, then followed up, "Guess it's busy work for someone brawny like me."
Acma tried to grin with her artificial face, showing appreciation for Devie's kind words, which were basically non-existent years earlier. Everyone had changed.
"We should have dropped by Balamb town to get some flowers," Devie said, looking around for some.
"It's alright. He's not a flower guy, but thank you," she said, then retrieved her Triple Triad card and threw it into the abyss.
"May he rest in peace," Devie attentively said.
Acma watched its fall in silence. Soon the dimly lit light died out under the depth.
"Acma! Devie!" Raddie's familiar voice called out from behind.
Devie excused himself, leaving Acma and Raddie alone in the Fire Cavern. Raddie waited until the young SeeD was gone, then came and took her hands.
"Are you ready to come with me?" Raddie asked, his eyes full of hope.
"Raddie... I'm so sorry..."
6 months later.
Esthar Research Lab 0800
"Bruno, I'm certain this will work. I want to inject it into myself right now, unless you have any objections," Acma said.
"There's no way I would ever let you do that," Bruno replied, his tone filled with concern. "Stick to procedures, please. Why are you so impatient?"
"I…"
"Acma! Quistis just delivered!" Raddie suddenly burst into the Esthar research lab, catching Acma and Bruno in the midst of their discussion.
Acma's heart raced as she turned to Raddie. "Oh Hyne, is everything alright?"
"Yeah... everyone is safe and sound," Raddie replied.
Acma's voice filled with worry. "Has he..."
"No, unfortunately," Raddie's expression grew somber.
Acma sighed at the relatively bad news, then asked. "What's the baby's name?"
Raddie replied and the answers hit Acma like a thunderbolt, leaving her momentarily stunned.
"What's wrong?" Raddie asked, confused at Acma's blank face.
"Nothing… Good… good news."
"Alright. I need to go and inform Ellone. I'll catch up with you later!"
Raddie's hurried departure left Acma deep in contemplation.
"Who would have known, huh?" Bruno sighed.
Acma was still processing Raddie's news, not fully paying attention to Bruno. "Know what?"
"That kid... who would have thought he would end up with Ellone. What's their age difference? Ten years? I can't believe Ellone chose him over all her other options," Bruno blurted out.
"What?"
"You don't know?"
"…"
"That kid wasn't lying when he said he had a thing for older women."
"No… he's certainly not…" Acma said, her voice heavy with disbelief.
Acma excused herself from Bruno and walked slowly back to her room, trying to make sense of everything.
It doesn't add up.
She opened her drawers, finding her notes piled up. Most of them had been torn down, leaving only a few remaining. The most recent note was dated two weeks ago.
'Bioacoustic lure.' What does it mean?
She took out a blank note and began to write the date.
Quistis and Seifer. Time travelers. Ellone?
She tapped her pen repeatedly on her head.
Ellone.
Esthar resident unit 1400.
Acma knocked.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Acma. I baked some cakes. May I come in?"
"Come in."
Acma entered the room and looked at the woman before her, whose once black hair had turned grey—a trademark of psychomagic and time manipulation.
"Bruno told me you like this flavor..." Acma said, holding out the cakes.
"Thank you. That's very nice of you."
"You're welcome."
"Is that all?"
"Uhm…"
"Again, Acma?" the woman asked, smiling as she stepped closer.
Instinctively, Acma took a step back, her vision darkening shortly afterward.
Esthar resident unit 0600
The next day, Acma woke up on her bed, startled by a phone call.
"Trepie #23?"
"Hey, girl. I'm just calling to check on you. I heard you passed out again," Trepie #23 said.
"I'm okay," Acma reassured her, memories flooding back as she reached for her pocket.
"Great, don't work too hard. I know you're up to something with time travel, heavy stuff."
"We're developing soldiers with synthetic bodies able to withstand time travel. We have to act quickly, Ellone said we're not far away from Ultimecia as we have thought. My body also needs constant upgrades. It's a win-win for me."
"Sounds dangerous. I wish I could help you by just winning cards like in the good old days..."
"Aw... how sweet of you, Madam Chief of Operations. How's everything going in the Garden? I hope the kids don't trouble you much."
"It's alright. Casi helped me out a lot. It's just that Garden is flooded with requests, and I have to get involved with paperwork to help Xu. Now that Quistis is gone, I'm next on the list for that."
"Trepie #23, you're a supermom, if you could raise that many kids, I'm sure you can do paperwork."
"Haha, right? Hey, I call because… I couldn't find info about Zyma's last mission. He hasn't been back for years now. I'm worried. Have you heard from him?"
Z… I'm sorry Trepie #23. Acma's heart sank.
"Yes, he did send me something now and then, not using his name, though. You know his type of missions... But he's alright. Don't worry!"
"Great! Phew, I thought... But it's good to hear, Acma. Someone sent me some Zelbagade tea leaves and I thought of him, that's why… On a darker note, I lost all his GF cards, haha. I'm not sure when, I swear I used some of them just last month. Our new janitor seems suspicious. Those cards are worth a fortune, all high-level magics."
"Fortunately, our world doesn't rely on high-level magic anymore. I don't think he'd be mad at you."
"Right, thanks to you, the Hyne's messenger. Alright, I was feeling uneasy, so I called you early. But it's good to hear that all is well. We'll be here waiting for you whenever you want to go home."
"I'll visit you soon. Love you, Trepie #23!"
"Take care, Acma!"
Acma turned on the bioacoustic lure retrieved from her pocket and retrieved her notes from the drawer, her mind filled with thoughts and uncertainties.
Z… what would you do? I'm so lost and I'm alone. What can I do?
2 weeks later.
Esthar resident unit 2200.
A knock on the door, disturbing Acma's sleep.
"Who's there?"
There was no reply.
She looked through the peephole and, seeing no one in the hallway, opened the door cautiously. As she stepped forward, her foot hit something on the ground.
This box…
Something about it felt familiar.
Muffins?
Suddenly, someone seizing her wrist from behind and applying a twist. Acma instinctively dropped to a seated position.
"You remember," a voice said. "Sloppy though. You're taller, no need to sit down to dodge."
Acma's heart dropped at the sight of her assailant.
"Rough day? Hyne, look at you. I need more time to get used to your new body. Machivie, they call it? And what's with the white hair, master?" the person taunted.
Acma could think of many retorts. I guess I'm no longer 12.
But she didn't need to show off. I told you I'd be your girlfriend in my next life… We both have died once, so I guess I should keep my promise.
And she didn't want to wait. I love you.
She jumped onto the tall her long lost lover and unleashed her love.
[…]
"Cigarettes?"
"You've kept these all these years?" Zyma was surprised to see the cherry-scented cigarettes he had secretly put in her drawers back in Balamb Garden before the magic puppet invasion.
"Uh-huh. Who else would I share them with?"
"I actually wasn't sure if you were alone in this room tonight. I was prepared for the worst."
"I guess people aren't fond of Machivies yet."
"They're missing out..." Zyma smiled and gave her another kiss. "What's with your new body?"
"Elutia's gift. My body was destroyed after returning magic to Hyne. The internal organs are grown from her cells mixed with bio-mechanic cells. The outer skin can be stripped off anytime, which is convenient for battles and time travel. I can't have children. Z… feel free to have fun somewhere else."
"Really? Like you'd allow me to," he chuckled. "A, it's fate that brought us back. I don't want to be with anyone else but you," he squeezed her arms more tightly. "We lost our child, but I heard you adopted many over the past years."
Acma nodded. "Trepie #23 helped me take care of them. Do you remember Casi?"
"Yes, Hilde's daughter."
"Did you kill Hilde?"
"I did. She was a Selkie, and it's part of the ritual. Just how you had to kill me as Aczyma to acquire me as a GF."
Acma held him tight, feeling relieved that he wasn't an illusion.
"How did you come back? They said all GFs disappeared after I returned magics to Hyne."
"I don't know what happened. One day I knew I existed again, finding myself in Fire Cavern."
Acma rolled her eyes. "I threw my card into the pit not long ago. Do you think that's what brought you back?"
"Could be," Zyma shrugged.
"I want to revive other GFs."
"What for?"
"You won't believe what I just discovered... or rather, rediscovered..."
Acma brought out her bioacoustic lure.
"I've been wondering why I wrote 'bioacoustic lure' on my note. It seemed like such a random device. Do you know what it is? I used it to capture Mesmerize when I was busted out in the middle of Trabia."
"It emits a frequency to hunt monsters?"
"Correct. But besides emitting sound, it can also record sound. I think my former self used this cryptic way to tell me today to use it. I'm constantly being watched here, and my memory has been erased more than once."
"What did you find?"
"A new challenge... a new goal... one where we could be the last ones standing. And tell me, Z, if you want to take it. I know you do. We've been through life and death, you became a GF, and I even talked to Hyne. Now I'm locked in this eternal body which I can program myself to go through time travel. I have to take advantage of it. I want to know why they killed our child. I want to know why Ellone kept erasing my memory. I don't want to be anyone's puppet. If there's only one puppet master, it has to be me. I have a hypothesis: Ultimecia is not a specific sorceress; it's a role. Anyone with enough power could become one and manipulate time and space. The one our Legendary SeeDs had defeated may not be the only one. I'm onto something, but you see… I'm useless without a partner."
"Say no more," Zyma took out his pile of GF cards. "I'll be your Knight. Let's try to revive your Quezacotl in Thunder Cavern to get magics first, and we'll go from there."
Acma smiled and hugged him again.
"It's so good to have you back. Please tell me this is not a dream."
Replay from bioacoustic lure.
"Quistis just gave birth, and I was wondering if you already knew about it. I wanted to share this great news with you," Acma said.
Ellone smirked. "Is that all? I know that look from you. You've come to me time and time again. I suppose this time I'll have to erase your memory even farther back."
"You..." Acma took a step back. "What happened at the time portal? Where is Shrewdya? What have you done to the rest of us?"
"She's alive and kicking asses being a sorceress in the future. Don't look at me as if I've done something terrible to your old friend. She's not the little girl in the pink hoodie from Balamb anymore. I've witnessed her grow up. It's her destiny, just like all of you have a part to play in this time-space adventure," Ellone answered.
"Then who are you? The puppet master, manipulating time and space? You never told us anything, and you could erase us at any time as you pleased. What is your motive?"
Ellone burst into laughter. "Dear survivor of Hyne, do you think it's easy being in my position? There are so many timelines to keep track of. One misstep and everything could shatter. Just sitting here and thinking ages me. But I love it. You all believe Hyne is the most powerful with its magic, but no, it has no interest in moving you mortals across time. That's where I come in. I'm the one in control here—sorceresses, knights, GFs, SeeDs, monsters... No one is strong enough to escape the path I've designed for them. I am your Goddess," Ellone declared proudly.
"Who are you? You're not Ellone we all know, aren't you?"
Ellone did not answer Acma, though she was certain of the answer. Ellone could have been long possessed by another sorceress.
"You've already known too much," Ellone responded coldly, taking a step closer. "Now... sleep, until I summon you again, my little Pawn."
You took away one of my Knights… Now see how this Pawn becomes a Queen with the other…
3 years later. Balamb.
"Are you alright?" Garneet asked Raddie who just came home after a long business trip from Esthar.
"I'm… I'm okay. It's just…" Raddie stammered.
"Is it about Acma?"
Raddie reluctantly nodded. He didn't want to mention Acma too much in front of Garneet, but he couldn't hide his emotion.
"What happened?"
"She's lost. No one has seen her for weeks," Raddie sighed.
"That's horrible. Are they actively looking for her now?"
"I'm afraid not."
Acma had started to have unusual behaviors years earlier. She began with making mistakes in her lab work. Some said she suffered from self-injecting untested drugs, others insisted years of GF usage to erase memories had gotten her mad. People had seen her wander in the streets of Esthar not showing any reaction. She kept murmuring about magics, sorceresses, and GFs in incoherent bursts. Last time Raddie saw her, she was restrained in a psyche in Esthar. But now, she was totally missing, and what frustrated him was that no one seemed to care to find her. After all she had done to the world, whether she was alive or dead bothered no one.
He was supposed to be her partner.
Even though she rejected him, he should have been with her.
Raddie couldn't understand what had gotten into his mind that he could leave his best friend in that situation for years.
"I have to find her," Raddie said.
He immediately regretted his choice of word. He had not decided yet and he would find her. Not without Garneet's permission.
"Raddie… I know you're worried about her, but…" Garneet tried to find an excuse.
"I'm sorry, I know. I won't," Raddie said.
"Thank you," Garneet said, then sat down and held Raddie up close. "All I ask for is our child will have both parents the moment he's born."
"I know. I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just…"
"I know she means a lot to you," Garneet smiled. "I'm worried about her, too. She's strong, with or without her Cyborg body. Let's wait for a few months, then we'll see. Can you promise me that?"
"Of course, love. I'm here with you both," Raddie caressed Garneet's bump. "I'm not going anywhere. Please forgive me."
"It's alright," Garneet finally smiled and stroked Raddie's hair. "I'll help you find her, I promise."
And that marks the end of FFVIII-2b. The next part Time Compression will feature Luluna and her time travel trips to find and fight Ultimecia.
I hope you enjoy this second-generation fan fiction for Final Fantasy VIII as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
Please leave reviews, and suggest more ideas, game references that I can add. I'm very open to make this fan fiction an open-source work where everyone of us can contribute with love for this awesome game.
I love you,
samaqi